Eperium
Overview Eperium is the capital city of Elloth. Placed at the mouth of the Saha river the city has been inhabited continuously for thousands of years but only after the rise to power of the Blagovast dinasty 250 years ago became the capital of the kingdom, usurping the position from the old capital Veliko. The city is the official residence of Kiriel Blagovast, King of Elloth, and his court. Using Dvorets, an impressive fortified palace, as home. Geography Eperium lies on the mouth of the Saha river. Its terrain is flat inside of the walls. Outside, the surrounding swamp have been drained by hundreds of years of human activity to accommodate a growing hive of farms and workshops. The city is divided in 10 districts. To avoid floods, Ellothians have installed three small dams in the course of the Saha in the vicinity of Eperium. That gives the city the surname of The city of the three dams. The bay of Eperium is tricky to navigate due to the existence of multiple small islands and rocks below the sea level. A system of floating buoys that can be removed and a constellation of firehouses help guiding the vessels that come in and out of the city. Just three kilometers away from Eperium there is an archipelago called The Pearls which is officially the 10th district of the city. Economy Eperium is primarily a merchant city. There are several merchant families that trade with all types of goods in direct competition with each other. Government The current civil governor (Hand) is Bennedictus Tahoe: a cunning old and short man who has direct contact with the King and the royal family. Tahoe has almost absolute control on what's going on in the city and very little escapes to his spy network. He has the loyalty of the Razkoshen, the local guard, whose First Sword is his son-in-law Meriadoc Dorne. Every district of the city has a sub-governor, called finger, who decides on local matters and on a budget provided by Tahoe. He still supervises the expenditure in detail and has zero tolerance with corruption which makes Eperium the most civilized city in Elloth. The city governors are helped in their duties by the order of the magisters. Each district has an assigned mage that act as right hand of the fingers. The order itself is commanded by the Gran Magister, title currently been hold by a human mage called Alsius. The Magisters, including Alsius, help with the local governance of Eperium but are also part of the army of the kingdom so they can be called on duty by the King Kiriel Blagovast in case of threat to the country. Districts * Gods * Marble * Old * Old Harbor * New Harbor * Crafts * Market * Castle * Palace * The Pearls Factions The Daggers, a thieves guild widespread in Elloth and other countries, have a tuned down presence here by the strict local legislation. Their main occupation is slave trade: they kidnap poor people from the slums outside of the city walls and ship them in clandestine dhows to the neighboring kingdoms where slavery is allowed. The governor Tahoe tolerates its existence because they operate on non-blood basis and keep the streets clean of homeless and beggars. The High Council. Composed by the rulers of the 8 main merchant families. They have no power over the legislation of the city but together they amass more riches than the King himself. They control the trade in the kingdom and at least half the land of the city is theirs. Belonging to the High Council is considered a symbol of status more than anything else and a certain part of the nobility considers them a bunch of snobs. The Magisters. Ten magisters (one per district) live in the city under the command of Gran Magister Alsius. They help with the governance of the city but they are also known to run their own agenda. The High Inquisitors. A group of zealous followers of Nodens. They fight against everything they consider evil or chaotic. Their presence in Eperium is not very renowned and they keep a low profile. Personalities King Kiriel Blagovast. Bennedictus Tahoe. Meriadoc Dorne Drisios Koe Gran Magister Alsius